Thoughts on this lift?

[TheBoogieman]

I am not. Thanks guys. I’m going to buy some 15” mammoths and 31’s, stock height, until I figure out a lift.

I daily my TJ and occasionally hit the trails, sometimes rutted, but nothing too crazy.

Build your Jeep for the way it fits YOUR NEEDS. Nobody's opinion means anything except yours. People on here have good intensions but are limited to people that use their Jeeps in MUCH different ways. The given 4" lift for 33s meant nothing to me when I only did mud. High clearance skids only pack mud in deeper and make it nearly impossible to clean out. I removed my skids. Do what YOU need to do for YOU.

 

[TheBoogieman]

Having done this more times than I care to rehash, I've learned that unless you're crawling in the rocks and doing some very tough wheeling, 31" tires and a 2" lift (which I would rather achieve with 1" springs and a 1.25" body lift) are all you'll ever need. Not only that but you'll save a lot of money and your TJ will be a lot more fun to drive on-road.

33s and up is a real can of worms if you want to do it right. It's also very expensive and unnecessary for the majority of us who just want to get off the beaten path but not actual "rock crawl". I wish I'd been honest with myself from the very get go about my intended uses. Instead I allowed myself to be influenced by others. Hindsight is always 20/20!

Excellent post!!! Feel free to delete my post now. I type too slow.

 

[DakotaTJ]

My ‘98 has OME 2” or 2.5” lift (whichever it's called) and 32” tires along with 3.73 gears. I have been through a lot of rocky Arizona trails with it.
It originally had Rancho 9000s and I really couldn’t tell much of a difference between the different settings. The shocks got so old the rubber bushings came apart, so I replaced the bushings, then I finally decided to replace the shocks and I couldn’t tell a difference with the new shocks, so I guess the valving was still working.

OME 2” lift and 32s


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This looks great!

 

[Woodrow]

Having done this more times than I care to rehash, I've learned that unless you're crawling in the rocks and doing some very tough wheeling, 31" tires and a 2" lift (which I would rather achieve with 1" springs and a 1.25" body lift) are all you'll ever need. Not only that but you'll save a lot of money and your TJ will be a lot more fun to drive on-road.

33s and up is a real can of worms if you want to do it right. It's also very expensive and unnecessary for the majority of us who just want to get off the beaten path but not actual "rock crawl". I wish I'd been honest with myself from the very get go about my intended uses. Instead I allowed myself to be influenced by others. Hindsight is always 20/20!

I'd also like to add that most people (myself included) tend to think TJs only look good with big tires and a lift. In recent years I've done a complete 180 on that. I actually like TJs more that look mostly stock with a small lift and 31s. Maybe a winch, some better lighting, and a few little things, but that's it.

There's a lot to be said for a clean, well preserved, mildly built TJ! It checks so many boxes.

100%.
I know you can fit 33s on less lift than 4" for DD duties. But you will lose the ability to utilize the uptravel you had in stock configuration. If looks on the street is the main concern, then fine. I'd rather be able to use all my suspension travel and would absolutely recommend the 2" lift and 31s for DD/light trial duty. 3/4" coil spacers, a 1.25" body lift and MAYBE new shocks would be my approach.

As @Chris said, well done 33s is a can of worms and you might as well do 35s if you open that can. Having said all of that, I am very happy with my 35s build for DD and rock crawling, though I ended up here the long and expensive way. It is all @Apparition 's fault.

 

[Apparition]

It is all @Apparition 's fault.

 

[Chris]

As @Chris said, well done 33s is a can of worms and you might as well do 35s if you open that can.

Ain't that the truth. If you're going through all that effort to run 33s you may as well just run 35s.

 

[MtPockets]

I’m going to buy some 15” mammoths and 31’s, stock height, until I figure out a lift.

That's a great plan, and I'm not trying to sway you one way or the other but just throwing this out there.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you have 16" rims now?
If so, 265/75-16s are just a touch bigger than 31x10.50-15s.
You could maybe save a few dollars by sticking with the 16s and putting that money aside towards a lift?

Btw, Northridge 4x4 has the Old Man Emu ~2.5" springs for $237.45/pair shipped.

Just thinking out loud here.

 

[jjvw]

100%.
I know you can fit 33s on less lift than 4" for DD duties. But you will lose the ability to utilize the uptravel you had in stock configuration. If looks on the street is the main concern, then fine. I'd rather be able to use all my suspension travel and would absolutely recommend the 2" lift and 31s for DD/light trial duty. 3/4" coil spacers, a 1.25" body lift and MAYBE new shocks would be my approach.

As @Chris said, well done 33s is a can of worms and you might as well do 35s if you open that can. Having said all of that, I am very happy with my 35s build for DD and rock crawling, though I ended up here the long and expensive way. It is all @Apparition 's fault.

Having been through multiple iterations with mine, I have long argued that to build the Jeep to perform well on pavement means that it will take care of you on the trail. One of the fundamentals to that position is to preserve or increase suspension up travel. The general recommendation of a 4" spring lift for 33s comes from that. It can be done with less with the right combination of shock and tire size. I did it. And by going through that process of learning to do it that way is what paved the way for where the Jeep is today. The take away from it all is that there is very little that separates a good street build from a trail build, if what you are chasing is good handling and control.

 

[L J]

beauty is in the eye of the beer holder

Who among us hasn't raised a glass to that?

 

[TheBoogieman]

Who among us hasn't raised a glass to that?

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The old bar motto was always true. "A 10pm 2 is a 2AM 10". It does suck the next morning when you have to pull an arm off you, to slide out of bed and sneak out. That's just my experience with my new wife. It's only been 12 years so maybe it will get better.